Pizza is my favorite type of bread; therefore, I wanted to make this recipe perfect. I began by defining my ideal pizza: bright and fresh tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella (torn by hand), and a dough with the fluffiness of Neapolitan and crunch of New York style. And, of course, the dough had to contain sourdough starter. I quickly found that neither instant yeast nor sourdough starter alone created the ideal dough—thus, my dough uses both. The yeast provides lift, while the sourdough provides flavor. The dough has a 70% hydration, slightly more than Neapolitan style, making for a blistered, crackling crust. Baking the pizza on a stone close to the top heating element of the oven mimics the high heat environment of a pizza oven. My favorite toppings are caramelized onions and Calabrian chili, but mushrooms, anchovies, pepperoni, ricotta, meatballs, and everything else (besides pineapple) are also acceptable.
Makes three 11" pizzas
Ingredients
Dough
450g bread flour
9g Diamond Crystal kosher salt
300g water
100g mature sourdough starter
1g (around 1/2 tsp) instant yeast
Olive oil
Sauce
14 oz can San Marzano tomatoes, liquid drained
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
4-5 basil leaves
Toppings and Assembly
40g semolina flour
8-10 oz fresh mozzarella, torn into 1/2-inch chunks
Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
10-12 basil leaves
Extra virgin olive oil
Caramelized onions, pre-browned mushrooms, ricotta, Calabrian chili, sausage, or any other topping of your preference.
Whisk the water, starter, and yeast in a large bowl. Add the flour and salt and mix with a wooden spoon until no dry spots of flour remain.
Turn the dough on to a well-floured counter. Knead until it does not stick to your finger when lightly pressed, about 10 minutes. Place in a clear container and cover with a dish towel. Let rise at room temperature for five hours.
Turn the dough out on to a lightly floured countertop. Cut the dough into three even pieces. Using your hands, form each piece of dough into a taught ball. Place dough balls on a lightly oiled sheet tray. Pour 1 tsp of olive oil on each dough ball and use your hands to coat each dough ball. Cover the tray with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight, or for up to 2 days.
While the dough is refrigerating, make the sauce. Place the tomatoes, garlic, salt, and basil in a food processor and pulse in one-second bursts until the sauce has a few small chunks of tomato remaining, about 8 seconds. Pour into a bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.
One hour before making pizza, place a baking stone at the top rack of an oven and preheat to 500°F (or highest oven temperature). 20 minutes before baking, remove the dough from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature.
10 minutes before baking, turn the broiler on. To shape the pizzas, lightly flour a countertop, place a ball of dough domed-side-up on the counter, sprinkle the dough with flour, and using your knuckles, form the dough into a flat disk (don’t press the edges down! They will form the crust). Gently lift the pizza dough and use your knuckles to stretch the dough out into a 11-inch round. Keep track of which side of the dough was facing up in the fridge—this will be the side facing up in the oven. When the dough is fully stretched, lay it on the counter, and sprinkle the pizza peel with semolina. Place the pizza dough on the peel, and add about 1/4 cup sauce, mozzarella, parmesan, and toppings. Drizzle with olive oil. Though it may be tempting, do not add too many toppings to the pizza—they can weigh it down and make it soggy.
Turn the broiler off and turn the oven back to 500°F. Slide the pizza onto the baking stone and bake until the cheese is melted and the crust is lightly charred and golden brown, around 3-5 minutes. Once you remove the pizza from the oven, remember to turn the broiler back on while you make the next pizza. Let each pizza cool for around 2 minutes before slicing and serving.
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